Baron waited until the woman’s gaze had moved off him before slowly letting out a breath.

Seeing Wanda looking at him anxiously, he quickly scrambled up from the ground and forced a strained smile in her direction. "I think I might be a little too unlucky."

Not just a little. Very.

He hadn’t faked the fall.

...

The two of them stood leaning against a wall in a corner of the backyard.

Miss Wanda clutched her chest, gasping for breath in her panic. "Ronnie, what are we going to do?" she said. "You knocked out the Chief Steward... What if he tries to get revenge?"

Baron wanted to say, ’Didn’t you see? I didn’t hit him; he’s the one who fell and bumped his head.’ But then he realized that ever since they’d become enemies, it no longer mattered whether he’d actually struck the blow so long as he was at the scene.

All the resentment and anger would be pinned on him regardless.

It was just like being framed for the Knight Commander’s assassination. Baron had the weapon and no alibi, and on top of that, he was a suspected enemy of the Knight Commander, Anthony. With the police unable to find the real killer and needing to give Lancelot an answer, it was only logical that he would be the one to take the fall.

After a moment’s thought, Baron said, "I’ll probably be fired by then anyway."

But Wanda said, "The Chief Steward is incredibly vengeful. He might bring people to find you before you can even quit... Ronnie, you should go apologize. An apology would make everything better..."

"That’s a problem for tomorrow," Baron said. "I just want to get through today."

’He wasn’t worried about the Chief Steward and his Dragon Knight sidekick. If the situation weren’t so restrictive, he’d use the skills he picked up in the "simple and honest" Prole to send the guy to kingdom come with a Flame Demon.’

’An idea suddenly struck him. Was that plan... actually feasible?’

"Are you Irish, Miss Wanda?" Baron asked, casually changing the subject as he glanced at her red hair.

Unlike Carmen’s silky red hair, Wanda’s was a drier, more brownish shade. Her eyes were light blue, and she had the freckles so common among the Irish.

Wanda said, "My mother is Irish, and my father is from Wales. They’re both Bloodless. They fled to the Outer Side when I was very young, though. Only my grandmother and my younger brother are still on the Inner Side."

She continued, "My younger brother is at the Edinburgh Wizard School. He’ll be a Preparatory Wizard next year... I took this job as a Maid with the Beowulf Family to pay for his schooling... In a few years, once he becomes a Law Enforcer, I probably won’t be working for the Beowulfs anymore..."

A blissful smile spread across Wanda’s face as she spoke, and Baron could tell she was genuinely happy.

’Perhaps she believes happiness is something you can achieve just by working hard.’

’Then he thought of the Chief Steward’s vile expression and figured the man might take his anger out on the Irish girl after Baron was gone.’

After a moment of silence, Baron said with genuine sincerity:

"Miss Wanda, promise me you’ll stay away from the Chief Steward, no matter what happens in the next few days. All right?"

Wanda didn’t understand, but after seeing the serious look in his eyes, she hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

She asked cautiously, "Mr. Ronnie... you’re not thinking of..."

Baron chuckled. "Don’t you know? An employee who knows he’s about to be fired is capable of anything."

’Then again,’ he thought, ’this is still the 20th century. The United Kingdom probably doesn’t have severance packages like N+1.’

’Oh, and what about that guy I stashed in the cloakroom? He’d be pretty dumbfounded if he woke up to find he’d been fired for no reason. I should probably leave some money for him.’

As a corporate drone in his past life, Baron naturally understood and sympathized with his fellow drones.

Wanda still looked worried, likely out of genuine concern for Baron and a sense of self-blame for failing to train him properly.

"It’s impossible... The Chief Steward is one of Young Master Jose’s men, and he’s of the Old Race. Even the Demon Hunters show him deference. You won’t get that lucky a second time..."

Wanda said anxiously, "Ronnie, you’ve only just joined the Beowulf Family, you’re still in your probationary period, so you don’t know... The rules of an Old Blood Clan are different from the rest of the Inner Side. Please, promise me you’ll go apologize before the Chief Steward has a chance to recover..."

"It’s my fault... I was careless and missed you during the orientation training, and that’s why you accidentally offended the Chief Steward... I’ll go with you to apologize. If he demands compensation, I’ll pay for half... Please, Ronnie, let’s go apologize together, all right?"

The Maid was terrified. She was likely recalling the Chief Steward’s cruelty from moments ago, as well as the rumored fates of those who crossed him. She bit her lip and started to tremble, tears welling in her eyes.

Any world with supernatural powers operates on the law of the jungle: the strong are revered, and the weak are meat for the strong.

Even though the Outer Side promoted equality for all, the Inner Side was teeming with "Supermen." The law alone wasn’t enough to restrain them. On top of that, there was the "misting"—a phenomenon far more dangerous than any natural disaster—which required these Supermen to deal with it.

The only thing ordinary people could do was submit.

In the more remote towns and villages of the Inner Side, the police were really just men in hats.

Wanda looked to be a woman in her early twenties; it was only natural for her to be afraid of power and authority.

’Especially the whip marks on her hands from the Chief Steward and her distressingly frail appearance... It all made Baron feel a pang of guilt. He had brought this disaster upon her; he couldn’t let her get caught up in it.’

"Why are you going this far to help me?"

"Because you remind me of someone, Mr. Ronnie."

"Who?"

"My younger brother."

"Don’t help me anymore. You don’t owe me anything. I’ll take care of everything before I leave."